CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck last night launched a bitter counter-attack against Arsenal in a desperate bid to make them the villains in the "Colegate" affair.

Chelsea's lawyers are preparing to launch an appeal against the Premier League's inquiry, but they are angry at Arsenal's tactics during the hearing.

They claim:

- Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein used his testimony during the case to urge the commission to impose a heavy fine, points deduction and compensation.

- Arsenal lawyer Nigel Boardman was invited to talk from the prosecution's table at the hearing to give the impression he was supported by the Premier League.

- Arsenal refused to sign up to a "peace pact" within 24 hours after the meeting was first reported when Chelsea offered to publicly declare no interest in Cole - in exchange for them not taking the matter further.

But Chelsea's "peace pact" offer seemed a bit rich as they met Cole, then decided they did not want him after all and expected Arsenal to forget all about it.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is understood to have of the story being published to offer the "peace pact" but the offer was rejected.

Chelsea's "peace pact" claim is unlikely to go down well at Highbury while a Premier League source admitted they were "perplexed" by Chelsea's reaction considering they knew Cole was under contract.

But Chelsea do believe Arsenal overstepped the mark at the hearing by trying to push for the Premier League to impose fines and points deductions.

Buck said: "It will be very difficult for us to forget this."telephoned Dein within hours